The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves, a three-year veteran of the CART series, led the final 52 laps and won his first of four Indy 500 victories. Team Penske swept first and second with Gil de Ferran finishing as the runner-up. Winning car owner Roger Penske scored his record-extending eleventh victory at the Indianapolis 500, and notched his first-ever 1–2 finish in the race. It was a redemption from the team's previous attempt at Indy (1995) in which both of his cars failed to qualify. Team Penske did not compete at Indianapolis from 1996 to 2000 due to the ongoing open wheel "Split".

The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was part of the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series season. The 2001 race was notable in that several top CART teams returned to Indy for the first time since 1995. IRL-based teams excelled in time trials, taking the front row, and the top four starting positions overall. However, the CART-based teams swept the top six finishing positions on race day. Former IRL champion Tony Stewart (who was competing full-time in NASCAR), returned to Indy after missing the 2000 race. Stewart raced "Double Duty", becoming the first driver in history to complete all 1,100 miles. He finished 6th at Indy, and 3rd at the Coca-Cola 600.

The race experienced two rain delays, one lengthy yellow flag around the midway point, and one brief red flag period later in the day. The race, however, was run to its full 500-mile distance.

This race marked the final IndyCar start for the previous year's championship runner-up, and two-time Indy 500 runner-up Scott Goodyear. Goodyear suffered an injury in a crash, and retired from racing. He would move to color commentary duties for ESPN the following season.

Race background In the seventh year of the ongoing IRL/CART split, Team Penske and Team Green purchased IRL-type machines, and returned to race at Indianapolis. Ganassi, who had returned (and won) in 2000, entered as well. For the first time during the open wheel split, the CART series did not schedule any races for the weekend of the Indy 500, nor for the weekend of pole qualifying, allowing their teams the opportunity to participate at Indianapolis without interference.

Because of his move to Formula One for the 2001 season, reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya did not return to defend his title. Montoya would not race in the Indy 500 again until 2014. After one year of retirement, two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk returned to the cockpit.

After an experimental two-week schedule was used for the Indy 500 from 1998 to 2000, the Speedway reverted to a more traditional three-week schedule for practice, time trials, and the race. Rookie orientation was held April 13–14. Time trials were set at three days, however, instead of the original four. The week-long open test held in April from 1998 to 2000 was also eliminated, essentially replaced by the reinstatement of the second week of May practice.

Due to the MSA, tobacco brand sponsorship became an issue during the month of May. Team Penske drivers Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran were sponsored by Marlboro full-time in the CART series. The MSA, however, allowed brand sponsorship in only one sport per season. To skirt the regulations, CART sanctioned the participation of its teams in the race. The Penske cars practiced and qualified with Marlboro logos during the first week of activity. By mid-month, however, they were required to remove the logos when the state attorney general's office objected to their use. Rather than repaint the liveries, or add generic logos (such as the familiar Marlboro "barcode" insignia), the sidepods were simply left blank; the familiar white/red Marlboro paint scheme was maintained.

Rule changes During yellow flag caution periods, the "wave around" rule would now be employed. When the field is one lap away from going back to green flag conditions, all lapped cars behind the pace car that happen to be ahead of the actual race leader would be waved around the pace car, get their lap back, and be permitted to catch up to the tail end of the line of cars. This would continue until the race leader became the first car behind the pace car. Following the precedent set in 2000, the pace car would then drop off the track in turn one, and the race leader would pace the field back to the green flag and the ensuring restart.

The new restart rules were an attempt to ensure the leaders would get back to green flag racing without interference from lapped cars. It also created a strategy for lapped cars to earn one lap back (ostensibly by not pitting under a caution flag while all of the leader do), since Indy car racing had never allowed "racing back to the caution", nor did they want to implement a hard rule like the "Lucky Dog" in NASCAR.

Race schedule Race schedule — April 2001SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 8  9 10 11 12 13ROP14ROPRace schedule — May 2001   1  2  3  4  5Mini-Marathon 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Pole Day13Time Trials14 15 16Practice17Practice18Practice19Practice20Bump Day21 22 23 24Carb Day25 26Parade27Indy 50028Memorial Day29 30 31    Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain

ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program

Practice and Time Trials IRL regular Greg Ray led the practice speeds for four of the first six days. Casey Mears, Eliseo Salazar, and Stan Wattles suffered crashes during the week. On Fast Friday, Indy 500 rookie Hélio Castroneves brushed the wall in turn one, but continued. The car suffered minor damage. Later that evening, Castroneves joked around with track workers, and helped them repaint the retaining wall which he had hit.

Pole Day - Saturday May 12 During the morning practice session, Tony Stewart turned the fastest practice lap of the month at 226.996 mph. However, the session was later halted when Eliseo Salazar blew an engine and crashed in turn one.

IRL regular Scott Sharp won the pole position with a four-lap average of 226.037 mph. Greg Ray, who had been among the fastest cars all week, waved off during his first attempt qualified, then returned later in the day to qualify second. Robby Gordon, driving an Indy-only entry for A.J. Foyt Racing, rounded out the front row. The highest of the CART regulars was Gil de Ferran, who qualified 5th. Former Indy 500 winners Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier, Al Unser Jr., and Eddie Cheever also made the field. At the end of the day, the field was filled to 27 cars.

Second Day - Sunday May 13 On the second day of qualifying, veterans Michael Andretti, Eddie Cheever, and Buzz Calkins withdrew their slow times from Saturday and re-qualified with better speeds. Rookie Bruno Junqueira was the fastest of the afternoon. At the end of the first weekend of qualifying, the field was filled to 32 cars in the field.

Bump Day - Sunday May 20 On Bump Day, Billy Boat was the first car to complete a qualifying attempt, and the field was subsequently filled to 33 cars. Six cars were bumped during the afternoon, and Boat dropped to the bubble spot as of 5:07 p.m. Over the final 53 minutes Boat survived twelve attempts to be bumped from the field. Eight cars waved off, and four were too slow. With ten seconds left before the 6 o'clock gun, Memo Gidley was the final driver to make a qualifying attempt. He failed to bump his way into the field by only 0.242 seconds.

Carb Day The final practice was scheduled for Thursday May 24. All 33 cars plus the first alternate took laps. No serious incidents were reported. Jeret Schroeder required a tow-in due to his car being stuck in gear. Hélio Castroneves's car was seen on pit lane with its engine cover removed, but the crew reported they were simply draining excess motor oil. Scott Sharp (223.678 mph) was the fastest of the day.

Pit Stop Challenge The 25th annual Coors Pit Stop Challenge was held Thursday May 24. Twelve teams competed in a single-elimination bracket. Seven teams earned berths based on pit stop performance at Indy Racing League events since the previous year's Indianapolis 500. Three spots would be filled by the three highest race qualifiers not already in the contest. The last two spots would be filled by a last-chance qualifying session on May 9.

On Wednesday May 9, the last chance competition trials were held. The results were as follows: Michael Andretti (10.38 seconds), Hélio Castroneves (12.44 seconds), Buddy Lazier (19.22 seconds), Jeff Ward (no time), Didier André (no time), Gil de Ferran (no time). Pole position winner Scott Sharp, outside front row starter Robby Gordon, and Gil de Ferran each earned spots based on race qualifying results. Gordon, however, withdrew from the contest and he was replaced by Buddy Lazier.

The bracket was determined by a blind draw. Four teams received byes for the first round. During the semifinal match between Gil de Ferran and race polesitter Scott Sharp, de Ferran stalled his engine and never left the pit box. The finals pitted Kelley Racing versus Galles Racing, with the crew of Scott Sharp defeating Al Unser Jr. It was the first and only win in the event for Kelley Racing. After three previous wins in the pit stop contest, it marked Al Unser Jr.'s first defeat in the championship round.

Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside1 8 - Scott Sharp 2 - Greg Ray 41 - Robby Gordon2 28 - Mark Dismore 66 - Gil de Ferran 5 - Arie Luyendyk 3 33 - Tony Stewart 35 - Jeff Ward 24 - Robbie Buhl4 91 - Buddy Lazier 68 - Hélio Castroneves 44 - Jimmy Vasser5 4 - Sam Hornish Jr. 10 - Robby McGehee 15 - Sarah Fisher6 52 - Scott Goodyear 77 - Jaques Lazier 6 - Jon Herb 7 3 - Al Unser Jr. 50 - Bruno Junqueira 39 - Michael Andretti8 49 - Nicolas Minassian 9 - Jeret Schroeder 12 - Buzz Calkins9 51 - Eddie Cheever 99 - Davey Hamilton 84 - Donnie Beechler10 14 - Eliseo Salazar 36 - Stéphan Grégoire 88 - Airton Daré11 16 - Cory Witherill 98 - Billy Boat 21 - Felipe Giaffone

Alternates First alternate: Shigeaki Hattori (#55) – Bumped Second alternate: Memo Gidley (#37) – Too slow

Failed to qualify #21 Raul Boesel – Replaced by Felipe Giaffone #07 Roberto Guerrero – Bumped #32 Didier André – Bumped #60 Tyce Carlson – Bumped; replaced by Richie Hearn #30 Jimmy Kite – Wave off #31 Casey Mears – Wave off #94 Stan Wattles – Crash #30 Brandon Erwin - Replaced by Jimmy Kite

Race recap

Start Race morning was overcast with rain in the forecast. Cool temperatures caused problems at the start, as pole sitter Scott Sharp crashed in the first turn on the first lap. Greg Ray and Robby Gordon barely avoided the crash, and slipped by the lead the field around for the first several laps.

On the 6th lap, the green came out, but less than 2 laps later, another crash occurred. Sarah Fisher spun in turn two, and collected Scott Goodyear. Both cars were heavily damaged, and Goodyear suffered a broken back. Goodyear would retire from IndyCar racing after the race due to the injury.

After a lengthy yellow, the green came out on lap 17. During the restart, however, cold tires caused yet another crash, as Sam Hornish Jr. spun in turn four. Hornish did not hit anything, but Al Unser Jr. moved high to avoid the crash, and brushed along the outside wall on the main stretch, ending his race.

First half and first rain delay The race finally got going on lap 22, with Robby Gordon and Greg Ray dominating the early going. A long stretch of green flag racing saw the leaders cycle through two green flag pit stops.